Madison, Indiana Homes For Sale

About Madison, Indiana

History

Madison was laid out and platted in 1810, and the first lots were sold in 1811 by John Paul. It had busy early years due to heavy river traffic and its position as an entry point into the Indiana Territory along the historic Old Michigan Road.

Indiana's first railroad, the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad, was built there from 1836 to 1847. Chartered in 1832 by the Indiana State Legislature as the Madison Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad, and construction begun September 16, 1836, the railroad was transferred to private ownership on January 31, 1843, as the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad. Successful for more than a decade, the railroad went into decline and was sold at foreclosure in 1862, renamed the Indianapolis & Madison Railroad, and after a series of corporate transfers, became part of the massive Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1921.

Madison's days as a leading Indiana city were numbered, however, when river traffic declined and new railroads built between Louisville, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati tapped into Madison's trade network. As a result, Madison's growth did not continue at the same pace it had experienced before the Civil War. During the late nineteenth century, many new buildings were still being built, but, in many cases, older structures were modernized by adding cast iron store fronts and ornamental sheet metal cornices. Some earlier buildings survived without major alterations, and the Madison's National Landmark Historic District today contains examples of all the major architectural styles of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from Federal to Art Moderne.

Since 1970, the population of Madison has declined from 13,081 to 11,967 according to the 2010 US Census data.

National Historical Status

Downtown Madison was granted National Historical Status in early 2006. On August 25, 2006, just months after the designation, a blaze severely damaged two historic downtown buildings, the Madison Elks Lodge and a former city hall building that was occupied by an insurance company.

Powerboat racing

Madison has a powerboat racing tradition dating back to at least 1911. In 1929, the city began holding an annual race, later called the Madison Regatta beginning in 1948. Since 1954, the Madison Regatta has held a high points Unlimited hydroplane race annually in early July. Although Madison has a population of only 12,000, the Regatta maintains its place in Unlimited Hydroplane racing hosting an Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Series race, whose other events are in Detroit, Seattle, San Diego, Evansville, and Tri-Cities, Washington. The Madison Regatta draws about 70,000–100,000 people annually and is held on July 4 weekend. A week-long riverfront festival also surrounds this racing event.

A source of community pride is that Madison has the world's only community-owned unlimited hydroplane racer, Miss Madison, which began Unlimited class racing in 1961. The boat, which has been known by various corporate sponsor names but was officially called U-6, traditionally finished near the bottom of the circuit. Before Anheuser-Busch dropped its sponsorship of hydroplane racing after the 2004 season, U-6 had won just six races using a variety of hulls. One of those wins was an upset in the 1971 Regatta, when by a mistake in the bidding process, the APBA Gold Cup was held in Madison for the first time, in which the low-budget team and its 1960-vintage hull defeated the well-funded corporate teams and their newer generation of "Thunderboats". The Gold Cup winner retired at the end of the year, taking second place in the overall national standings, and was replaced with a new Miss Madison in 1972. Newer hulls followed in 1978 and 1988. Madison hosted the APBA Gold Cup Race again in 1979 and 1980.

As a participant in the new H1 Unlimited series, the City of Madison team driver, Steve David, finished first in the H1 Unlimited national point drivers standings in both 2005 and 2006 driving U-6, now in the colors of sponsor Oh Boy! Oberto. In 2008, under the aegis of Miss Madison Incorporated and with a new hull built in 2007, the U-1 Miss Madison won its first H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship for Oh Boy! Oberto. On July 3, 2011, at Madison, David escaped serious injury but the hull was seriously damaged when the three-time defending national champion crashed into the U-96 Spirit of Qatar on the third lap of the championship heat after Qatar spun in a turn into the path of the Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison. David and the repaired boat returned in time for the 2011 Columbia Cup, where it finished second (to U-96), then won the August 7 Albert Lee Cup in Seattle. In true Miss Madison tradition, the repairs to the hull are being defrayed by local fundraisers.

The Miss Madison's greatest accomplishment, when it seemingly came from out of nowhere to win the 1971 Gold Cup with an aged boat against powerful competitors such as Atlas Van Lines II and Miss Budweiser, was recreated in the semi-fictional film Madison.

In 2013, Miss Madison/ Oh Boy! Oberto driver Steve David announced his retirement after his final run at the San Diego Sea Fair. On Friday, November 8, 2013 a retirement celebration was held at the Boneyard Grill on Madison's hilltop to celebrate David's 12-year tenure as the driver of Miss Madison's Oh Boy! Oberto.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 11,967 people, 5,048 households, and 2,951 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,396.4 inhabitants per square mile (539.2/km2). There were 5,787 housing units at an average density of 675.3 per square mile (260.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 2.8% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 5,048 households of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.5% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.79.

The median age in the city was 42.2 years. 21% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 28.9% were from 45 to 64; and 17.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.8% male and 55.2% female.

Jefferson County Courthouse in Madison

Nearby Listings

Listing information provided courtesy of the Southern Indiana Realtors Association. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use, and it may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. The data is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS.

Only real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® may call themselves REALTORS®. All REALTORS® must subscribe to NAR’s strict Code of Ethics, which is based on honesty, professionalism and the protection of the public.

Only real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® may call themselves REALTORS®. All REALTORS® must subscribe to NAR’s strict Code of Ethics, which is based on honesty, professionalism and the protection of the public.